Overview
Our bones can reveal fascinating information about how we have lived, from the food we have eaten to our levels of activity and the infections and injuries we have suffered. Elizabeth Weiss introduces readers to how lifestyle—in complex interaction with biology, genes, and environment—affects health in this distinctive tour of human osteology, past and present. Centering on health issues that have arisen in the last 50 to 60 years rather than thousands of years ago, Paleopathology in Perspective is organized around particular bone traits such as growth patterns, back pains, infections, and oral health. Each chapter explains one category of traits and reviews data drawn from both ancient and more contemporary populations to explore how global trait trends have changed over time. Weiss also considers the likely causes of these changes—for example, the growth of obesity, increased longevity, and greater intensity of childhood sports. Taking a long view of bones, as Weiss clearly demonstrates, provides clues not just about how ancient humans once lived, but also how biology and behavior, lifestyle and health, remain intrinsically linked.
Full Product Details
Author: Elizabeth Weiss
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Dimensions:
Width: 16.30cm
, Height: 2.20cm
, Length: 23.70cm
Weight: 0.549kg
ISBN: 9780759124035
ISBN 10: 0759124035
Pages: 266
Publication Date: 18 December 2014
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
This book is an important resource for students of ancient disease. It successfully integrates paleopathological and modern biomedical data to provide an overview of how socio-economic and lifestyle factors affect the frequency of bone and dental diseases from prehistory to the present day. Technical jargon is kept to a minimum, each substantive chapter ends with a concise conclusions section summarizing the main points, and there is an up-to-date and extensive bibliography. -- Simon Mays, Human Skeletal Biologist, English Heritage The book presents a comprehensive overview of the major categories of pathological conditions observed in human skeletal remains, described in terms that newcomers to the field can appreciate. What makes it different from most texts, however, are the extensive discussions of possible factors affecting the conditions taken from modern clinical studies. Students and experienced scholars alike will appreciate this unique perspective. -- Marie Danforth, University of Southern Mississippi Paleopathology in Perspective fills a currently empty niche, particularly for advanced students. Weiss integrates biological concepts with historical and archaeological perspectives to present paleopathology in an admirably accessible fashion. She utilizes deep time perspectives to cover the ills attendant to our species’ upright posture and advanced age (such as degenerative maladies of the vertebral column and osteoarthritis) as well as congenital defects, infectious diseases, and our prospective future health. The result is a substantive contribution to our knowledge of human disease—past, present, and future. -- Jane E. Buikstra, Arizona State University
This book is an important resource for students of ancient disease. It successfully integrates paleopathological and modern biomedical data to provide an overview of how socio-economic and lifestyle factors affect the frequency of bone and dental diseases from prehistory to the present day. Technical jargon is kept to a minimum, each substantive chapter ends with a concise conclusions section summarizing the main points, and there is an up-to-date and extensive bibliography. -- Simon Mays, Human Skeletal Biologist, English Heritage
This book is an important resource for students of ancient disease. It successfully integrates paleopathological and modern biomedical data to provide an overview of how socio-economic and lifestyle factors affect the frequency of bone and dental diseases from prehistory to the present day. Technical jargon is kept to a minimum, each substantive chapter ends with a concise conclusions section summarizing the main points, and there is an up-to-date and extensive bibliography. -- Simon Mays, Human Skeletal Biologist, English Heritage The book presents a comprehensive overview of the major categories of pathological conditions observed in human skeletal remains, described in terms that newcomers to the field can appreciate. What makes it different from most texts, however, are the extensive discussions of possible factors affecting the conditions taken from modern clinical studies. Students and experienced scholars alike will appreciate this unique perspective. -- Marie Danforth, University of Southern Mississippi Paleopathology in Perspective fills a currently empty niche, particularly for advanced students. Weiss integrates biological concepts with historical and archaeological perspectives to present paleopathology in an admirably accessible fashion. She utilizes deep time perspectives to cover the ills attendant to our species' upright posture and advanced age (such as degenerative maladies of the vertebral column and osteoarthritis) as well as congenital defects, infectious diseases, and our prospective future health. The result is a substantive contribution to our knowledge of human disease-past, present, and future. -- Jane E. Buikstra, Arizona State University
Author Information
Elizabeth Weiss is professor of anthropology at San Jose State University. Her publications include Reburying the Past, Bioarchaeological Science, and Introduction to Human Evolution.
